Introduction
In this article, we will learn how to install Xamarin on your PC in a few simple steps.
Microsoft Visual Studio allows you to build native mobile apps for iOS and Android using C# and .NET. The development is done using Xamarin. Xamarin apps are built using Visual Studio. Before installing Xamarin, you must have Visual Studio installed on your PC.
If you have Visual Studio on your machine, you can skip these steps.
- Simply go to the browser and type “Visual Studio”. Click on “Downloads”.
- After the window appears, click “Free Downloads” to download the latest Visual Studio Installer. Visual Studio is installed using a tool called Visual Studio Installer.
- After downloading the installer, go to the search and open “Visual Studio Installer” for the Visual Studio installation.
- Visual Studio Installer lets you install different editions of Visual Studio. While Enterprise and Professional are paid, the Community edition is free to use. Install Visual Studio Community by clicking on the "Install" button.
- Once the installation starts, you will see various Workloads, Individual Components, and Language Packs.
Visual Studio allows you to build native iOS and Android apps using Xamarin. To select Xamarin, you must select the "Mobile development with .NET" checkbox.
- After it finishes installing, go to the search bar and type "visual studio" to open and launch Visual Studio.
With Xamarin installed on your Visual Studio 2017, you can start building native mobile apps for iOS and Android using C# and .NET.